


like father like son

by felixfraldarius



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Coming Out, Family, Gender Identity, Trans Character, Trans Felix Hugo Fraldarius, Trans Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:20:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22050001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felixfraldarius/pseuds/felixfraldarius
Summary: A short story about Felix finding himself (and, incidentally, his father).
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius & Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius
Comments: 2
Kudos: 38





	like father like son

**Author's Note:**

> this fanfiction has to do with felix finding himself to be trans, and as a result, he is referred to as she and a girl for part of the story, along with a different name. please note that i am a trans person writing this.

For as long as Fabienne Fraldarius could remember, she didn’t fit in with the girls of Faerghus. She was always interested in swords and sparring, and even though she had some girl friends that were interested in fighting as well, such as Ingrid, most of them didn’t care. A lot of them preferred tending to flowers and cooking, something that Fabienne found quite boring. She didn’t mind cooking sometimes, but she mostly thought it felt like a chore over anything, rather finding herself more interested in the idea of hunting for the food as her father and brother did. For some reason, though, this type of behaviour didn’t sit well with some people. She knew that others often thought of her as brutish – a girl that never acted like one. It was rumoured that when she was a toddler, she would do things like fight her older brother and rip off any frilly item that she was dressed in. 

Though Fabienne wasn’t forced to do the “girly” things that she didn’t want to – such as wear dresses like the other girls and braid her long hair into intricate styles – she still was seen as a young girl to everybody around her, something that brought her discomfort that she didn’t understand. She was thankful that her family allowed her to do things that she wanted – she heard many stories from Sylvain of Margrave Gautier’s strict parenting, knowing fully well that if she were a Gautier instead, she would never be able to accompany her brother on hunting trips or spar with boys - but there was still something that always felt off from the way she was regarded. She didn’t know what it was but being called “Duke Fraldarius’s daughter” made her lip curl up. She didn’t even like being called her first name, adopting the nickname Fabi amongst her family, a name she hoped was more neutral. 

With each passing year Fabienne attempted to copy her brother more and more, becoming brash and favouring swearing over her father’s polite speak (to his dismay). There was something about Glenn that she wanted, too, though she wouldn’t figure that out for a bit still. She knew she shouldn’t feel jealous, especially because Glenn had always been a good brother, and her family didn’t mistreat her or expect her to fill the role of a girl. However, her brother wasn’t expected to act well, nor be girly, and despite her family never pushing it on her, others certainly tried, which made her frustrated and exhausted. She was acutely aware of the hushed tones other parents would take as they spoke about her when they thought she wasn’t listening. Pointed comments about how she didn’t act like a girl were also familiar and expected whenever she would interact with other people, especially nobles. 

It wasn’t until she was about nine that she found an important book in her father’s room. She had been sent to grab something for him, but the text had caught her eye. It was a book about people in Faerghus that were not “as they seemed”. That is, they were people that did not live up to gendered expectations of them in the Kingdom’s society, rather playing completely opposite roles. Those who were born as women but wore pants and became swordsmen. Those who were born as men but wore dresses and became healing nurses. The thing that stood out to her most was that these people lived their lives as the roles they played – swordsmen were men, no matter what they were born as. Somewhere deep inside of her yearned for that to be her; she had been practicing with her blade since she was little, but that was unpopular for a girl, and even so, she didn’t want to be called a _swordswoman_. Fabienne shoved the book under her shirt and brought Rodrigue the item he had requested of her – a hairtie to pull his long hair back as he was in the middle of repairing a lance and needed it out of the way. She appreciated that even the Fraldarius men had long hair; she was sure that if they had short hair, she’d have wanted to cut hers, as well. That was the one thing she didn’t mind about herself – her shoulder-length hair, navy blue like her brother and father. 

After awhile of contemplation and reading though _his_ father’s book, Fabienne had come to the realisation that _he_ was indeed not a girl, but a boy – one named Felix, in fact. The name came to him without much of a struggle, one he had heard in passing before. He spent many nights telling himself “I am Felix Fraldarius”, testing how the words sounded back to him. Rodrigue’s book had also become his favourite thing to read and a key point in figuring himself out. Each person had a unique story to report on, and there was even some informative text about why people changed their appearances to look like a different gender. He especially found it interesting that Kyphon – friend to Loog, founder of the Kingdom of Faerghus and a presumed descendant of Fraldarius – was one of those people, a strong man that was, as the book put it, “born as a woman”. Nobody seemed to talk about it, but Felix found it reassuring that one of his ancestors was just like him. 

After reading through the entire book multiple times, his entire life felt like it clicked into place. His years of feeling “off”, not like the other girls, was all because in truth, he was a boy. Perhaps the others didn’t see him that way just yet, but Felix knew it to be true. The only question that weighed on him was: _Why did his father have this?_

The hardest part about his revelation was figuring out how to tell Rodrigue. He couldn’t see his father being angry at all, as throughout his childhood he had been allowed to do things that girls didn’t often do. However, that did not mean it was easy to conjure the talk in his head, drawing a blank each time he tried. He had to resort to writing it out, his pen smoothly writing his new name, _Felix_. Brown eyes flicked across the page, reading the words many times over in order to perfect what he was going to say. He only wished he had the chance to learn of this earlier; the days, months, and even years of confusion would have eased their grip on him if he simply knew he was Felix. 

The time eventually came to tell Rodrigue. Felix had asked him to come to his room, already waiting on the bed for his father. His words caught in his throat, and he had a hard time forming sentences despite rehearsing his coming out for hours on end. 

”Father. You have… A book about people in Faerghus that grow up to be different people than they originally were. Do you know what I’m talking about?” His heart was pounding. This was harder than he thought. 

To his surprise, Rodrigue’s expression was nearly unreadable, starting off as shock, but morphing into something different. He was clearly deep in thought about the book, gazing at the wall as he nods in response. Felix stared at him, trying to uncover the emotion buried in his blue eyes. He had thought his father would perhaps be angry at him taking his book – of a rather personal topic at that – but what Rodrigue was feeling was something Felix couldn’t decipher at all. 

”Well. I… Am one of those people, I’m Felix. Felix Hugo Fraldarius. I want you to call me that. I want to be your son.” 

Anxiously, he continued searching his father for a reaction. He was still for a moment, before smiling a little bit and piping up, “I was wondering when this would come, my boy.” 

”… What?” 

”Truth be told, I’m just like you. I used to be what some would call a woman, long ago. For as long as you have been breathing, I’ve wondered if you would end up like me. You reminded me exactly of myself.” 

_What?!_

Never in the world would Felix have seen that coming. That answered the question as to why he had that book laying around his room, but that didn’t do anything to ease the shock that coursed through him. 

”… That has to be a joke.” 

”It’s not, my dear son. I have always allowed you to dress how you like and do what you want. Most nobles in Faerghus have high expectations of their sons and daughters, but I suspected you may not feel like you are my daughter. Now, I don’t exactly approve of you and Glenn’s horrid mouths, but that’s a different story. I understand why you copy your brother so much.” Rodrigue had a gentle smile on his face, and it made Felix feel a bit better, too. He was no less surprised, but to have his father understand him was all that he wanted. 

”So, you…” He was at a loss for words. 

”Yes. I was supposed to be the Fraldarius daughter, but I would have none of it. I’ve taken a… Medicine, you could say, for decades that allows me to look this way. When you’re older, I will allow you to get some as well.” Rodrigue poked at his sparse facial hair as he spoke. Felix wondered if he would ever have some, too. “But for now, Felix, we must get to fixing your room. The name on your door will be updated, and we can paint it a different colour if you’d like. I will set to getting your clothes changed as well, though you won’t need much updating, since they’re already quite masculine. Your hair is fine at shoulder length, as Fraldarius men wear their hair long.” 

Felix could feel his heart swelling. He had only hoped for his father to understand him, but he was going above and beyond. He appreciated it to no end. 

”Father, I… Thank you.” 

Rodrigue ruffled his hair, messing it up a bit. This made Felix giggle, and his father echo it with his own chuckle. “It’s no problem, Felix. You are my son now, and that’s all that matters. I’ll do anything to ensure you feel comfortable.”

**Author's Note:**

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